Little League softballers disqualified over Snapchat post

Updated 2:09 pm, Saturday, August 5, 2017

KIRKLAND, Wash. (AP) — Atlee (Va.) Little League's junior softball team has been disqualified from its World Series championship matchup over what officials say was an inappropriate social media posting.

Little League officials announced the disqualification Saturday morning, just hours ahead of the championship game, which was broadcast live on ESPN2.

Little League described the offending post only as "an inappropriate social media post."

The Richmond Times-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/2wihxci) reported that an Atlee team member posted a photo on Snapchat showing six of the girls giving the middle finger and making clear they were directed at the Kirkland players over a perceived lack of hospitality.

Atlee defeated Kirkland 1-0 on Friday in what the Times-Dispatch called a "feisty" semifinal.

The Times-Dispatch reported that "Friday's game ended with a player and coach from the Kirkland team being ejected for stealing signals from the Atlee team while on second base and relaying them to the batter."

However, the host Kirkland team replaced Atlee in the championship game against a team from Poland, Ohio. The Ohio girls beat the Kirkland team for the title on Saturday, 7-1.

The Atlee team is made up of 12-to-14-year-old girls from an area near Richmond, Virginia.